Obradovich: Seng's bid against Loebsack flabbergasts many

Mar. 19, 2012

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State Sen. Joe Seng, D-Davenport, surprised some people when he announced nearly three weeks ago that he was considering running for Congress.

He surprised some of them again when he came up with the signatures and filed nominating papers last week.

If Seng, 65, manages to knock off Dave Loebsack, 59, who is seeking a fourth term in Congress, people will be more than surprised. Try shocked. Stupifed. Gobsmacked.

Some Democrats also might feel a little irritated, annoyed or maybe even ticked off. Those would be the ones who applauded Democrat Christie Vilsack for sparing Loebsack a primary. Instead, she left her home turf in the redrawn 2nd District to take on incumbent Republican Steve King.

“I’m sort of an underdog,” Seng acknowledged, referring to the $451,000 that Loebsack had on hand at the end of last year.

Seng, a veterinarian, is positioning himself as a moderate. He said he’s running because Congress is too polarized.

“I’ve always been a moderate,” he said. “I’m willing to meet in the middle with people, to work out plausible solutions to some of our problems.”

Seng, a Catholic, said he’s pro-life and he is on record as opposing the Health and Human Services rule requiring employee insurance plans for church-owned institutions to cover contraceptives. While he praises Planned Parenthood for offering beneficial health care to women, he said he couldn’t vote for public funding that could be used for abortions.

In the state Senate, Seng led debate on what critics call the “ag gag” bill. The legislation, signed by Gov. Terry Branstad, made it a crime to take a job in an animal production facility under false pretenses, such as for the purpose of exposing cruel or unsafe practices. Opponents of the bill, mostly Democrats, called it a power play by big ag interests.

Seng’s not a Republican in disguise, however. He’s pro-union, and said he’s concerned about global warming. He advocates renewable energy, and he voted in committee against legislation to pave the way for a new nuclear energy plant in Iowa.

Seng said his first priority in the short term is improving the economy and promoting job creation. He’s willing to spend public money for infrastructure, such as roads and bridges. But he doesn’t want to add to debt, and said his greatest long-term priority is balancing the budget.

He advocates cuts in military spending.

“I’m very much a peace candidate,” he said. “I’m not really for getting in any more wars. However, he makes an exception for cuts that would cost jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal. The military will still need munitions, he said.

Seng doesn’t consider Loebsack the incumbent in the redrawn district.

“He moved into the district to qualify,” said Seng, a lifetime resident of Scott County. “As far as I’m concerned, his home residence is outside of the new district.”

One thing Seng has going is that he’s well-known in the district’s population center, with 12 years in the Legislature and time on the Davenport City Council.

Loebsack’s political director, Brian Fritsch, said that the congressman represents 14 of the 15 counties in the new district and that he’s visited Scott County 112 times in the past year. He said Loebsack “has always had an open-door policy, assisting Iowans no matter their views, but will not back away from his core principals, such as his strong support for women and their right to health care, including contraceptive care.”

Seng’s a long shot. Moderates tend to have a short life expectancy in primaries. In this race, there’s a two-way GOP primary competing for right-leaning independents. Sometimes, middle-of-the-road candidates get run over in the general election. Many may recall a certain cardigan-wearing congressman, Republican Jim Leach, who lost in 2006.

That gobsmacked a lot of people, too, perhaps including the little-known college professor who managed to knock him off. Loebsack should know better than anybody that incumbents aren’t invincible.